‘There is no court order to give back FJT his property’

The Zambian judiciary says no court order was issued by Judge Philip Musonda to give back second republican president Dr. Fredrick Chiluba his seized properties as reported in the Post newspaper.
Judiciary Public Relations Officer, Terry Musonda, has told journalists in Lusaka that Dr Chiluba is not party to any court proceeding before Judge Musonda and has not been mentioned anywhere in a matter between Tedworth Properties Incorporated and the Anti Corruption Commission-ACC-.
He said the court case being refereed to by the Post Newspaper is not yet concluded because of the other applications which are still pending. Mr. Musonda said the article in the Post is grossly misleading.
He further explained that the article is contemptuous and prejudicial to the court process since the matter is still active and alive in the courts of law. The Post newspaper last week reported that Judge Musonda ordered that Dr. Chiluba be given back his seized properties.
It reported that Judge Philip Musonda ordered the ACC to surrender properties to a company registered in Panama dubbed Tedworth Properties Inc which the former president used to acquire the said properties in the capital Lusaka, the Post said.
The company had sued the ACC in 2003 so that the court could make a ruling about the forfeited properties, arguing that the former president was the rightful owner of the properties which include blocks of flats in various parts of Lusaka. The properties were seized during the course of investigations into the former president’s alleged corruption during his 10-year rule.